Iter Itineris
by Alstroemeriae
Summary: James and Lily attempt to navigate through their Seventh Year, dealing with friends, family, and fighting the war going on outside Hogwarts walls, while still on the inside. JPLE.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N—Disclaimer; I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters. This is my first attempt at a multi-chapter. Review if you want more about how Lily and James navigate through their Seventh Year. **

His raven-colored hair curls into the back of his neck and Lily is too preoccupied studying it to listen to McGonagall's lecture on Gamp's Law. Over his hunched shoulder, she can see him scribbling nonsensically on his parchment, which was void of any notes; this lesson was simple a review for NEWTS, after learning it in second year. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, tie unloosened, and top three buttons undone despite being Head Boy and technically required to keep his uniform in tip-top shape. She subconsciously undo's the top button of her blouse.

Too busy watching James draw a dragon on the top left corner of his parchment, she fails to notice the note being levitated to her desk from the other side of the room until it drops on top of her desk. Surprised, she lets out a small squeak. James and Sirius rotate their heads, looking at her from the corner of their eyes. She narrows her eyes and James chuckles before returning his attention to his miniature Hungarian Horntail Dragon. She glances around the room before making eye contact with a grinning Marlene McKinnon near the front. She nods towards the note, and Lily opens it.

_Could you be more obvious?_

"_Fuck,"_ Lily whispers, although apparently not quietly enough; "Language, Evans," Sirius taunts without even looking behind him. She rolls her eyes.

_Do you think anyone else saw?!_

She levitates the note back up the isle and it lands neatly on her desk. She tries to avoid staring at James' broad shoulders for more than four seconds.

_Don't get your panties in a bunch. Half the class is asleep of zoned out… You know, this isn't the first class I've noticed your attention waver from the blackboard to a certain someone. Is there something you want to tell me?_

Lily purses her lips as she tries to conjure her most innocent response. She can't deny it, she ruined her chances of that when she guiltily questioned if anyone else witnessed her gazing. She truthfully writes,

_Okay. I am physically attracted to him; I've always been, a little bit. Now he's right in front of me, and not annoying me with his incessant bragging. So what? It's just something to do instead of listening to my teachers drone on about something I already know. Now, McGonagall is talking about the exceptions to Gamp's Second Theory, and if I recall, you got a D on this essay in Third Year. Pay attention._

Lily lifted her eyes to wink at Marlene before jokingly kissing the note, leaving a faint red lipstick mark on front. Marlene rolled her eyes and waved towards herself, impatiently signaling to send the note. Lily smiled faintly to herself, successful diverting the conversation without making Marlene suspicious. However, she failed to notice that Sirius had plucked her note out of the air on its trip to Marlene squeaked—much like Lily had minutes ago—and silently pointed to Sirius.

She straightened her back, spotting the lipstick-labeled note between Sirius' thumb and forefinger. Thinking fast, Lily pushed her quill off the edge of her desk, and smiled apologetically at McGonagall before ducking and crawling under her desk, across the row, and beneath James and Sirius'. She irritably tugged on his pant leg, alerting him she was on the ground. Unfortunately, James noticed as well and looked down at her with a smirk and raised eyebrows. She ignored him, and held out her hand for Sirius.

"Oh, this is yours, is it?" Sirius feigned ignorance, holding out the note.

"No shit, Sherlock. Now give it back." She replied pinching his calf.

"It's Sirius, babe. I'm not quite sure who this Sherlock bloke is. Maybe the one you were levitating this love letter to?" Sirius whispered in response, now turning the note over between his fingers. Lily growls under her breath, just about ready to punch Sirius in the testicles and crawl back to her own seat. Before she could act on her plan, James unexpectedly grabbed the note from Sirius. Before she could throw an absolute fit—a silent one, but a tantrum all the same—he had already placed the note back in her palm and patted her head. Lily gawked at him for several seconds before a strict cough snapped her out of her revive. Lily cringed before grabbing the quill Sirius was handing her and turning to McGonagall on her knees.

"Found it?"

**A/N- Ahhh, I've never successfully written a multi-chapter before. I always get stuck around chapter four or five. I used to assume it was like an attention thing—that I couldn't focus on one thing for too long before getting tired of it. But I was thinking that maybe, if I was able to get feedback from other writers and readers, I would be better focused and more motivated to continue my story…. So, maybe if you are interested in the story, or you like or even don't like my style of writing and can offer CONSTRUCTIVE criticism review and let me know! Thank you thank you thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N—Yay, a second chapter! This one is a pretty short but I'm still trying to get the feel of writing a multi-chapter. **_** REVIEW FOR ANOTHER CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE THIS ONE!**_

"Detention? _Detention?!_," Lily cried as she and Marlene exited the classroom, "Did you know, I've never gotten a detention at Hogwarts in all of my six years."

"I did know that. You've said so four times in the last thirty seconds," Marlene replied with an eyeroll.

"Just my fucking luck; the first day of classes as Head Girl and I get _my first detention!"_

"Lily got a detention?!" Alice exclaimed as she caught up with the pair after having a free period. Mary was walking on her other side, glancing at Lily with an open mouth and wide eyes.

"You know, they're not so bad," Marlene continued, "So what—you have to scrub a dozen copper cauldrons—."

"It's not that," Lily interrupted vehemently, "It's the philosophical aspect—my clean streak is tainted by the dirt of a detention."

She jumped as she felt an arm being wrapped around her shoulder. She peered up at the uncommonly tall boy. "I can taint your clean streak too; anytime, Red, just ask…," James winked. Lily let out a snort of disgust to disguise the small flutter she felt, well, down there at those words. _These feelings are purely hormonal. I am a seventeen year old girl, this is normal_, she convinced herself. Besides, although James had given her back her note without reading it, and showed a sliver more maturity on a few separate occasions in the last couple of days—he was still the same old, child-like James, although this time, with a little bit of responsibility other than being Quidditch captain.

"You'd turn my streak black, Potter," she scoffed as she shrugged his arm off her shoulders. His booming laugh bounced on the walls, filling the crowded corridor with a small sense of carefree happiness on a Monday morning. She couldn't help herself; she let a small smile grace her lips at the sound. James smiled down at her again before ruffling her hair and catching up with Remus and Peter a few steps ahead.

It had always amazed her how James could so easily raise the spirits of a group of people. Most of the time, he had done so by playing pranks; primarily on people who had _maybe _deserved it. The Marauders were all about protecting and defending the weak or otherwise unable. However, motives did not make their actions okay, in Lily's point of view. Some of their pranks—most notably in fifth year—were absolutely humiliating. A Fourth Year Ravenclaw boy had stood up Henriette Holt, a Gryffindor girl on the first Homesgade visit of the year. The Marauder's had sadly watched as she stood by the gates for the first hour and a half, desperately waiting for her crush to show up. Lily did admire their good will when she watched them comfort and cheer her up on their way back to the castle; however, the next morning at breakfast, the Ravenclaw boy was plucked from his seat by his underwear, carried through air by a rather buff barn owl, and hung from the chandelier.

The point was, James was a bully with occasional good intentions. His occasional good intentions did not make him a good person. The end did not justify the means.

She just needed to remind herself of this every time she thought about him.

With renewed vigor, she continued towards Advanced Divination.

xox

"Hey, Alice! Wait up," Frank Longbottom called from a few paces down the corridor. Alice almost squealed in response before turning ninety-degrees and smiling widely at her partner prefect. He pulled one of her curls as he reached her and watched it spring.

"All right, Frank?" she asked. He nodded and she continued, "How's the first day?"

"Half the day hasn't passed and Slytherin and Gryffindor both have -30 points. Almost glad I didn't make Head Boy, you know?" He replied as they passed through the Ancient Runes hall. Alice nodded sympathetically. "Although I have suspicions about Dumbledore's mental health after choosing James," He joked.

"Oh, I know," Alice agreed, "But he has won us the House cup as Quidditch captain for the past two years, so he must have some form of authotity."

"That is true," Frank said. "But I didn't catch you to talk about James inane leadership skills. I wanted to ask you a question…" He continued.

Alice nodded, urging him to go on.

"Well, a very reliable source has recently informed me that the first Hogsmeade visit is this upcoming Saturday. Would you be willing to accompany me?"

She could tell he was nervous, no matter how cool he pretended to be on the exterior. His fingers were fidgeting around the strap of his messenger, and his lip was tucked between his teeth. It was endearing and it made her stomach tickle happily.

They had danced around each other throughout sixth year, much to the annoyance of their mates. Alice was hopelessly shy when it came to members of the opposite sex and Frank was too nervous to ruin their friendship, or make things awkward. She assumed something must have happened over the summer holiday that encouraged him to ask her out on the third day back. She was grateful; it was like a weight being lifted off her shoulders.

"I'd love to."

xox

If there was one privilege of being Head Girl that Lily appreciated the most, it was the Private Dorms.

Of course, she'd miss Marlene, and Alice, and Mary, but _she had her own dorm! _She would no longer have to lock her trunk from Kerry the resident kleptomaniac. She didn't have to cast a _Muffilato_ charm to drown the sound of Marlene's snoring miss her alarm, and be late to Transfiguration. She would _never _have to wait half an hour to shower in ice cold water.

All she had to do to make her dorm feel perfect was pretend James Potter did not live on the other side of their shared bathroom and common room.

_Fucking hell_.

He had been in the Gryffindor Boys Seventh Year Dorm the past two nights, claiming it was _tradition_. Lily had wholeheartedly agreed, even offering to turn his bedroom into an office so he could forever stay with his brothers.

He laughed and said he could not deal with another year of Sirius and his "special guests".

Lily had scrunched her nose in absolute disgust and shoved him out of the portrait hole roughly.

And now was the unfortunate night of his return, she though bitterly as she walked up the stairs of the tower.

"Hadeharia," she told the painting of the princess locked in the tower. The princess nodded, and the portrait swing open. With a sigh, Lily stepped through and toed off her shoes before scampering off to her room and changing into a night gown and robe. It seemed as though James had not arrived yet. Maybe he had taken her advice and she'd have a new personal office by tomorrow night.

"_NO FUCKING WAY!_"

It appears she may have spoken too soon.

On the left side of the room, two tall boys with dark hair were rummaging through an open cabinet near the ceiling.

"I knew they wouldn't do trunk inspections for the Head Boy," he explained with a wide grin while attempting to open a bottle of amber liquid. "Dad snuck it in after Mum checked."

"Oh, do I love Charles like my own father," Sirius replied, wrestling with another bottle, "Can't remember the charm to open bottles, damn it. Didn't think to bring an opener?" Sirius said with a raised eyebrow. James laughed and shoved him.

Lily pulled her robe over her chest while crossing her arms and coughed, alerting them of her presence.

Their eyes widened in surprise, like deer caught in headlights. Sirius moved to hide the booze behind his back as Lily calmly crossed the room, but she plucked the neck of the bottle from him before he could bring it out of her reach.

"Hm, contraband." She observed. As bad as it sounded, she was _relieved_. Of course James Potter would do something as irresponsible as bring enough alcohol to fill an entire cabinet. The lack of immature pranks in the last forty-eight hours combined with the minute, decent act he performed this morning _did not mean James Potter had changed._ He was still the same toe-rag who was negligent enough to hide alcohol in the Heads Dorm.

Exhausted with joy, she spoke the bottle opening charm, took a swing, and winked.

"Goodnight, boys."

xox

"_What a wonderful Tuesday to be alive, la-de-da-de-da, thank Merlin Christopher has such an amzing sex-drive, ha-he-ha-he-ha!"_

"I'm guessing Mary got laid," Lily observed the next morning on their way to breakfast. Marlene nodded and covered her ears with her hands, "She's been rhyming for the past forty five minutes. Did you know she can relate cytoplasm to orgasm?"

Lily laughed honestly in response and reached over the bench to grab a croissant and plum, while Mary and Marlene sat down. Marlene looked up at her with angled eyebrows.

"Where are you going!?" she exclaimed while popping a blueberry into her mouth.

"You have to stay, _we miss you_!" Mary added, tightly wrapping her fingers around Lily's thin wrists.

"I miss you too, doll, but I have to get these schedules to Alice before Breakfast ends," she waved the papers to emphasize her point. "Any clue where she is? I assumed she'd be with the pair of you."

"Wait—you haven't heard?!" Mary exclaimed, her hands coming to cup her cheeks. "_How the fuck_ have you not heard."

"Talking about Alice are you?" a baritone voice chimed in from behind Lily. A pair of warm, large hands rested on the small of her back, pushing her to sit down at the bench; she gingerly placed her croissant and plum on the plate that James had put in front of her. "He knows about something that I don't? I'm her best friend!" Lily accused, mildly offended. She took a large bite out of her plum.

"Eh, is that the Hogsmeade schedule, Lils?" Sirius questioned. "Lemme have one, I have to start assigning girls."

"Pig." Marlene scoffed. Sirius oinked in her direction, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Anyways, Alice and Frank will be down momentarily—I think they were just finishing their morning romp when we left so—," Sirius continued, unaware that this was news to Lily.

Lily shocked on her pumpkin juice.

"When did this happen?" she spluttered, coughing. James patted her back.

"Well, somewhere between the last time we talked to you on the train, and now. You're missing out on major news and we feel neglect; quit headship," Mary suggested, proud of herself for finding such a brilliant solution to their problem.

"Long shot, Mary, but nice try," Marlene commented, "He asked her to the next Hogsmeade visit yesterday, but I guess they couldn't wait after so many years of sexual tension because they were both half naked in the seventh year boy's dormitory apparently."

Lily looked to Remus for affirmation, and he nodded sadly in response.

"When do you think Lily and James will develop into that stage of their relationship? Has to be soon, they've been stuck in between pure hatred and orgasmic love for quite a long—," the roll Marlene shoved in Sirius' mouth promptly shut him up.

**A/N—REVIEW, REWVIEW, REVIEW IF YOU WANT MORE PLEASE I NEED FEEDBACK AND I WILL USE YOUR TIPS WHILE WRITING THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE, -Alstroemeriae **


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